


I Like the In-Between

by afraidioactivity



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Changing POV, College AU, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Extremely light angst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, background tyunning, beomgyu and yeonjun are dating, beomjun are a mess when it comes to relationships that aren't their own, beomjun are whipped, like a lot of changing povs, lots of coffee dates, rated t for language and maybe making out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27438343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afraidioactivity/pseuds/afraidioactivity
Summary: Yeonjun and Beomgyu have a problem. They're dating each other. They both like the same boy. He might like them back.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin, Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Beomgyu/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 51
Kudos: 395





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will probably be posted in 2, maybe 3 parts but I wanted to get the start of it out there for some motivation. Don't worry, I'm actually 90% finished the entirety of this work, so the rest will be up soon. Thanks Dae for looking over this for me, I appreciate you always being my hype man. As always, communication in any relationship is key, be open and honest with your loved ones, etc. I just have yeonbingyu brain worms that I really needed to get out so I hope you enjoy!

“So…” 

It was how Beomgyu started the conversation the second he walked into the apartment, throwing his backpack haphazardly on the floor. It would usually be a move that would make Yeonjun gently scold him. After all, he was kind of tired of being the one who generally picked up their living space. But it was the way that Beomgyu had entered, looking mildly serious, not bothering to move to his boyfriend’s side with a kiss or a ‘how was your day,’ that kept Yeonjun’s mouth shut. 

“So?” He sat up a little straighter, abandoning his phone, eyes attentive. Beomgyu shifted nervously, glancing like he wanted to sit down on the couch but also wanted to keep some distance between the two of them. “You’re making me nervous here, man. What’s ‘so’?” 

“So.” Beomgyu started again, pausing for a moment and now Yeonjun wasn’t so sure if it was out of hesitation or dramatic effect. It could honestly go either way. “There’s this guy. From my class. I asked him to hang out with me.”

Yeonjun blinked, eyebrows furrowing before picking up his phone once again. The conversation was slowly losing steam and he knew that he could probably zone out until Beomgyu was ready to make his point. Luckily, it didn’t take his boyfriend too long to understand that he was losing Yeonjun, and that whatever he needed to get out, he needed to get out a little faster. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence, they always liked to string each other along just to build tension or annoy each other. If it was important, they trusted each other to get to the point eventually. Beomgyu deemed this an important conversation, so he continued without the usual theatrics.

“He’s _cute_. Like, really cute.” He didn’t have to further explain himself. After years of friendship and then relationship, the implication of their words were understood even if they didn’t spell everything out with each other. 

Yeonjun glanced up from his phone. “So are you breaking up with me or what?”

It was a joke, Yeonjun was smiling at him as he said it, but Beomgyu could read between the lines. It also was not. Beomgyu quickly sat down now, hand on the other’s knee, shaking his head fervently. 

“No,” he laughed, though his fingers squeezed reassuringly. “But I wanted to bring it up with you.”

Yeonjun hummed. “Oh, it’s that serious, then.” 

Beomgyu settled in, head on Yeonjun’s shoulder, ignoring the mild noises of protest now that his boyfriend needed to accommodate him into his space on the couch. Yeonjun stretched out his long legs so that the other could curl himself comfortably, and once again cast his phone to the side in order to listen. 

“So what about this boy do you like? Other than the fact he’s really, really cute.” Yeonjun carded his hand through the other’s hair, pressing his cheek against the other’s head with a grin. “He’s not cuter than me, though, right?”

“That’s completely subjective,” Beomgyu huffed, but pressed into the attention he was getting. “We just get along. Class is fun when he’s around and we have a lot in common, and when he smiles he has _dimples_ , man, and he’s tall and pretty and… I don’t know, I just have a crush.”

“Is it a crush you think you want to pursue?” 

Beomgyu wasn’t sure. There were cute and pretty and tall boys everywhere. Hell, Yeonjun fit that description pretty well. And he was happy with his relationship. What started as a friendship between two awkward limbed teenage boys had blossomed over the years into a true romance. He could very easily say he was in _love_ with Yeonjun, the kind of love where you really couldn’t see a future without the other person there by your side. They just fit, in a way that could have only been forged through years of enduring friendship that had slowly turned into love. It didn’t feel scary or overwhelming in the slightest, it just felt like it was meant to be this way. Him and Yeonjun, together, cracking jokes at each other’s expense, getting mad at each other’s worst habits, but clinging to each other when they needed it most. 

But that didn’t mean there weren’t moments like this, where one of them had encountered someone new that jump kicked that spark. They had dated other people before they had dated each other, it wasn’t new for either of them to confide in each other about their crushes. And even now, sometimes Yeonjun would come home with a dreamy sigh, talking about a cute boy he saw until he had to kiss the pout off Beomgyu’s face. It wasn’t weird for their eyes to wander, neither of them were the type to really get jealous because they were too close now for that. But it was still muddy water, something they never truly addressed since neither of them had ever truly been all that serious in pursuing other people when they had finally gotten together. 

“I think I want to think on it,” he finally said, honestly, and he glanced up to see how Yeonjun would react. “I think he might like me back, at least a little bit. Would it be weird?”

“No,” Yeonjun said simply, though his gaze looked a little further off, like he was thinking it over. “I mean I’d need to meet him, it’s not like he won’t see me around so we should get that out of the way. We can talk about it more with him.”

“If he would even be down for that,” Beomgyu whined, sitting up, nearly pushing Yeonjun off the couch in the process. “What if he thinks it’s _weird_? I can’t ask him to date me if I all ready have a boyfriend.” 

“Hey, I’m pretty cute, as far as boyfriends go. Have you seen this face? He’s lucky he gets to see me around too.”

Beomgyu grinned, eyebrows wiggling. “Oh? A two for one special?”

Yeonjun shoved him as he got up off the couch, stretching languidly.

“Dude, don’t be gross. In his _dreams_.”

* * *

This conversation with Beomgyu’s crush didn’t happen. Partially, he was floundering on how to engage. _‘Hey I like you but I have a boyfriend. But he’s really cool with me also dating you so if you’re like ok with that kind of thing we can all sit down and have a meeting about it?’_ seemed a little bit awkward to be saying to someone you just started hanging out with. That, and the semester was getting legitimately busy. They were hurtling towards winter break, a time where most people were looking forward to family time and a needed break from school, but that also meant exam after exam after exam. Something as stressful as bringing in a potentially new partner into your all ready established relationship wasn’t really top priority at the moment. It didn’t stop Beomgyu from coming back from study sessions with his crush and sighing dreamily about it, whining about how unfair it was that he had to study when his crush was right there, in kissing range.

“Are you going to stop being vague about it and tell me his name at least? You keep talking about him and I have no clue who this guy is,” Yeonjun rolled his eyes, setting up the rice cooker for dinner while Beomgyu attempted to chop onions. Key word being _attempt_ , since he kept getting distracted with some brand new crush commentary he had to unleash on the other. 

“I will eventually,” Beomgyu shrugged, rubbing his slowly watering eyes. Damn onions. “But I know you. You’ll look him up and cyber stalk him, creep.”

“Only because I’m concerned,” Yeonjun put his hand over his heart, looking hurt, though the effect was somewhat ruined with the ugly bright orange apron he insisted he needed every time he cooked. It hurt Beomgyu’s eyes and it had multiple dubious stains on it from Yeonjun’s various cooking adventures, but he would probably have a breakdown if Beomgyu ever decided to toss it. “Like who does he hang out with? Are they cool? Trustworthy? Is he going out all the time and neglecting his studies? What if he’s a total fuckboy and he’s just going to use you?”

Beomgyu laughed at that, picking up his knife and making a valiant effort to continue chopping. 

“Yeah right. I can’t imagine Soo-I just can’t see him as a fuckboy. He’s definitely more of a homebody if anything.”

“So he’s boring,” Yeonjun quipped, pout turning into a slight grin. “Soo huh? Soo what?”

Beomgyu lifted his knife, pointing it at Yeonjun with purpose. The older boy didn’t even bat an eye, this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the slightest when you put them in the kitchen together. “Don’t start.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Just cut the onions properly all ready. Have I taught you nothing?”

* * *

Finals season turned into a whirlwind rush to get ready for break. By this point, they didn’t split up to spend their breaks with family. They divvied up the time between Beomgyu’s family home and Yeonjun’s, though the schedule was a bit tight. It was hectic but it was fun, and they spent another winter season in each other’s company. And Yeonjun only teased Beomgyu a little bit when he hunched over on the couch, texting his crush with his phone shielded.

It isn’t that Beomgyu wanted to be sneaky around his boyfriend. After all, his crush still didn’t know that he _was_ the crush, though Beomgyu would insist that there was underlying flirty intentions behind a specific emoji used or subtle question asked. Anytime Beomgyu had one of these flirty moments, Yeonjun would be the first to know, both out of his own curiosity and to keep him in the loop. It was more that Beomgyu still was too stubborn to talk about who his crush actually was. For fear of what? Yeonjun wanting to make sure he wasn’t a total asshole? Seemed unfair. 

“You’re flirting with him again instead of cuddling with your cute boyfriend, who is right here might I add, and you won’t even let me _see_?” Yeonjun emphasized his point by pushing Beomgyu’s shoulder with the heel of his foot from where he lay on the couch, looking put out with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Or you could just say you want attention,” Beomgyu pretended to be annoyed but he put his phone down dutifully. 

“I want attention.”

And like a good boyfriend, Beomgyu ignored the vibration from his phone on the coffee table, instead moving to flop his entire body on top of Yeonjun, despite his noise of protest. He couldn’t just let the older boy get his way that easily, of course. Beomgyu got himself comfortable, shoving his head into the crook of the other’s neck, waiting patiently for Yeonjun’s arms to wrap around him as he got himself settled. His texts could wait, they were just sending each other memes at this point anyway. It still counted as flirting though, as far as Beomgyu was concerned. 

“I love you,” Beomgyu said it softly, closing his eyes as Yeonjun craned is head to kiss the top of his head. 

“I know.” 

“I promise I’ll tell you more about him when I figure out how to actually talk to him about all of this.”

“I know.” Yeonjun just squeezed him tighter. 

* * *

Yeonjun was not having a good morning. He was an early riser, despite the fact he was dating someone who slept like he was dead and insisted on cuddling close. Most mornings were spent either shoving Beomgyu off of him so that he could get up or using a couple extra minutes to push Beomgyu off of him and slap him (gently) until he woke us as well. The spring semester had just started, and as much as his boyfriend tried to avoid early classes, he had landed in one. Which meant today was a day Yeonjun had to spend the extra couple of precious minutes he would normally be staring at his phone as he allowed himself to slowly wake up to push and prod Beomgyu to get his ass up. It wasn’t an easy feat, as Beomgyu tended to crack an eye open and make a mumbled “hmmrf” noise (Yeonjun translating it as ‘ok I’m getting up’), before making a half assed attempt to sit up and ultimately just rolling over and falling back asleep. Normally he would have just left Beomgyu, but he knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it later when he would somehow be named the reason for Beomgyu’s tardiness on the first day of classes.

Because of this, Yeonjun was running late. It was fine, there was a can of coffee in the fridge and a protein bar on the counter, and it was easy to throw on a plain shirt and joggers and look semi decent with a button up to keep him warm. Beomgyu was looking a little less like a zombie, and was at least reaching for his phone. If he fell back asleep now, it would be no fault of Yeonjun’s. He was able to grab all of his things and run out the door and even though he had to walk a little more briskly than he would have liked to, he made it to his bus on time and got to campus, making it to his classroom and his desk with barely a minute to spare. 

Except in his rush to get dressed, feed himself and make it look like he hadn’t ran out the door in a panic, he had forgotten his damn pen case. Normally it would have always been shoved into some corner of his backpack, but he dumped all school related items out of it during winter break and had forgotten to put it back. So now that he was fully in his seat, in class, notebook out and ready to take notes, he didn’t have a damn pen to write with. If he didn’t feel so rushed to leave, he would have double checked. Dammit Beomgyu….

It must have been the way he rifled through his bag twice, glaring at the notebook in front of him as if that would materialize the words the teacher was writing on the whiteboard. Hell, he had his phone opened to the notes app at this point, resigned to typing it out (Damn this school and its eco friendly initiative to no longer hand out syllabuses with pertinent information he needed to have memorized for the semester). He must have looked desperately like a man who needed a pen. Because there was a hand to his left, reaching out with a simple ball point pen and setting it on his desk. 

“Thanks, you’re a life saver,” Yeonjun whispered, glancing over with a grin. The kid sitting next to him had a black hoodie and sweats on, looking comfortable with the hood up over his head. Yeonjun hadn’t really had a chance to take a look at anyone else considering he was in such a rush to not be late, and this kid in his sweats hadn’t left much of an impression on him at first.In a sea of college students in loungewear trying to stay awake during their first morning class, this wasn’t an uncommon occurence. 

“No problem,” the stranger looked over his way briefly, a slow and sleepy smile on his face that showed just a hint of dimple before he quickly turned his head forward.

Oh. 

Now he had Yeonjun’s attention. Just a little bit. 

The stranger was tall even while sitting, and broad too. His dark bangs fell over his face, obscuring it a little with the hood being up and all. Yeonjun wasn’t a creep, he wasn’t going to stare, but he did glance on occasion. It was hard to see his face from this angle but Yeonjun could tell he was _cute_. And he really didn’t mind getting to sit next to a cute boy in class, especially when said cute boy let him borrow a pen. God, was he really this cliche and easy? Maybe. 

“Thanks,” he said when class was dismissed, turning to his classmate and putting the pen on his desk.

The other finally turned fully toward him once again, and while his hood and bangs still obscured his face somewhat, Yeonjun was absolutely right. He had a soft, sweet looking face, and when he started to smile, those dimples came out. He had an interesting mouth shape and a nicely defined jaw and he was… cute.Especially when he shrugged one shoulder, picking the pen up and passing it back over to Yeonjun.

“You’ll probably still need this for the rest of your classes, yeah?”

“I can just buy a new one,” Yeonjun waved him off, laughing slightly as he gathered his things. His classmate rolled his eyes, goodnatured. 

“It’s just a pen, take it. Bring it back next time or don’t, it doesn’t matter.” His classmate stood to gather his own belongings, and yep Yeonjun was right again. He stood a little taller than him and he really didn’t mind that either. 

The classmate slung his backpack onto one shoulder, smoothing out his hoodie as he turned to join the other students on their way out of the lecture hall. Yeonjun mentally shook himself. Everyone was leaving, he didn’t want to be stuck just standing there staring while cute classmate walked off completely unaffected. Hell, this was probably as much of an interaction as he was going to get from his classmate anyway. It wasn’t like there were assigned seats, they probably wouldn’t even sit next to each other again. But cute classmate hesitated for a moment, a slight frown on his face like he was contemplating something. Before Yeonjun could move to walk past, he turned back, that same soft smile gracing his face again.He ruffled his own bangs, lifting them slightly as he gave Yeonjun a once over. 

“I like your hair, by the way. It’s pretty.” He didn’t stop long enough for Yeonjun to say more than a stuttered out little ‘thank you’ before he was walking out the door, becoming one with he student traffic in the hallway, though he was just tall enough to stick out a little from the crowd.

Yeonjun reached up to fix his hair, the color a bright pink that he had done on a whim over the break. He was glad he did it now. Really, really glad. 

Pretty huh? Yeonjun could feel it in his cheeks, the heat crawling over his skin thinking about the other’s gaze subtly looking him over, quiet but maybe a little bit purposeful. Oh, he was most certainly in trouble. 

* * *

“Hey! Yah! Soobin!” 

Soobin jolted slightly, even though he could all ready tell who was yelling his name so loudly in public. He pulled his hood down, fixing his hair as he turned to give the other an unimpressed look. “No Soobin- _hyung_?”

“I was calling you, _hyung_ , but you didn’t hear it. Not my fault,” Beomgyu bounded up to him, playful grin plastered all over his face as he grasped onto Soobin’s arm. “How was class? Miss me?”

“Now how would I miss you when you text me every five seconds?”

Beomgyu shrugged, not really phased by the question as he pulled out his phone one handed and sent a rapid fire text before pocketing it into his cardigan, as if proving the other’s point. He let go of Soobin and turned to walk backwards as he grinned up at his friend. 

“Are you headed anywhere right now, hyung? Wanna get coffee?” 

This was a normal occurrence ever since the two of them met last semester. They had become fast friends, though that wasn’t a huge feat for Beomgyu. He was cute and charming and friendly, though Soobin wouldn’t have believed that at first. The first couple of days that they were seat mates, Beomgyu had been pretty quiet. But it seemed like it took barely any prodding to get him to open up. They both liked online games and hated taking unnecessary required classes (who needed to take a _history_ class when they weren’t trying to do anything related to it?) Ever since they were assigned together for a group project, they had become pretty fast friends, hanging out at the campus cafe to study, playing games together over chat, and texting at any given moment of the day. 

It wasn’t that Soobin couldn’t make friends easily, but he rarely got super close to someone as quickly as he had gotten close to Beomgyu. And Beomgyu seemed determined to keep this relationship going strong, which Soobin appreciated. Most times their friendship consisted oflightly ribbing each other and bemoaning their work load, though sometimes they actually sat down and talked about their feelings. Soobin liked those moments the most, them sitting quietly together in the library or over the phone, talking for hours about their problems, no matter how petty or small. Those were moments Soobin cherished. After all, it was nice to have someone there for you when you needed it.

Especially when they were as cute and cheerful as Beomgyu. 

“Sure, I have some time,” he said simply, casually, even if there was a part of him that was pleased to see how happy something as simple as getting coffee seemed to make Beomgyu. As much as he would like to drop his stuff off at his dorm and maybe take a quick nap, he couldn’t easily say no to the other. It was a little concerning. 

He didn’t want to become a walking stereotype of “found out I was gay in college and now every cute boy who gives me attention turns into a crush,” thank you very much. He had self control, common sense, and standards, after all. It was something he had wondered about in high school, how he never really had even a passing interest in the girl’s in his class (though to be fair, he didn’t really like any of the boys in his class either. There was only so much poor hygiene and loud, obnoxious behavior one could take from teen boys).

College had solidified it though. He was living in a dorm, getting meals from the dining hall, clearly not fully in the grasps of adulthood yet. But he was old enough to actually pay attention to what he might want. And he realized- _a small epiphany, sitting on the uncomfortable twin bed of his dorm that barely fit his long limbs, remembering the lopsided grin Beomgyu shot him during one of their first times hanging out outside of class_ \- that what he might want is a boyfriend.

They entered the campus cafe and queued up. This was the time of day where there was a thankful little lull in the student traffic, so it didn’t take long for them to be next. 

“Nope,” Beomgyu bumped Soobin away with his hip, successfully pushing him away from the register as he paid for both of their drinks, despite Soobin’s protests about being his hyung. Beomgyu handed his card to the cashier and flashed Soobin another one of those lopsided grins that shot his heart right up into his throat.

Soobin considered Beomgyu his closest friend since entering college. He also wasn’t above admitting he had a small crush. He tried not to be awkward about it, and maybe if he wasn’t so worried about making an ass of himself or putting some kind of rift in their relationship, he would tell Beomgyu about it. Hell, if he was a little less awkward around cute boys, he might have even asked that boy from his class for his name. The pink hair had caught his eye, and he found it kind of cute the way the other got flustered. But he didn’t really feel like offering up a pen warranted getting to know the stranger’s name. Why did this have to be so damn complicated?

Beomgyu grabbed their drinks when his name was called and smirked as he pulled Soobin’s away before he could take it from him. Soobin pretended to be annoyed, but used his height to his advantage to grab at the drink Beomgyu was trying to keep out of reach. He was successful, holding onto Beomgyu’s shoulder to keep him close as he grabbed the drink and looked down to smirk at his friend in triumph. Except he was met with Beomgyu’s eyes sparkling with amusement but not making a move to step away from him. They were close now, chest to chest, and Soobin swore he could feel Beomgyu’s breath on his face. They stared at each other for a moment, and Soobin unconsciously licked his lip. But then Beomgyu quickly backed off, taking a sip from his drink and putting distance between them. 

Right, Soobin mentally kicked himself. Beomgyu liked to play around, don’t make it weird by attempting to what? Kiss him in the middle of a coffee shop? He wouldn’t have done it but he was certainly _thinking_ it in that moment. _Reel it in, Soobin, stop falling for every cute boy who likes your company._

* * *

Hoodie boy, as Yeonjun began to call him, had gotten his pen back the next time they had class, Yeonjun making sure to seek him out and sit next to him once again. He had accepted it with a little amused grin but had turned away quickly as the professor dimmed the lights and started up the projector. Yeonjun used the opportunity to observe the other, the way he had his hood up once again, his own pen in his mouth absentmindedly when he wasn’t writing notes. And for the next week of classes, that was as far as their interactions went. His classmate didn’t take the time to stand around once class was dismissed, usually grabbing his things quickly and heading out the door. Yeonjun even came a little bit earlier the next time, hoping to talk before class started, except hoodie boy was running late and had barely made it into the classroom before the professor started talking, and sat diligently silent in his seat. He still made sure to sit next to Yeonjun though. 

Later that evening, Yeonjun stood in their kitchen, pouring hot water into his ramyeon cup andsetting the chopsticks over the lid to let it steep. “There’s a problem.” 

Beomgyu was sitting at his computer at the kitchen table, so so close to finishing the last page of his essay that was due in the next few hours. He continued to tap away, making a small noise of recognition that he heard Yeonjun, though his attention wasn’t fully all there. Probably for the best, as Yeonjun kept turning like he was going say something before scrubbing at his face with his hand and turning away again. He proceeded to do this three times, and Beomgyu broke away from the computer screen momentarily to raise a brow. 

“I’m getting to it,” Yeonjun laughed nervously, stirring the noodles in his cup to break them up as he fully ripped the lid off and sat down to eat across from his boyfriend. Beomgyu waited patiently but all he could hear was Yeonjun slurping so he supposed whatever the problem was, it would have to wait for Yeonjun’s stomach. 

“You almost done your paper?” He said a moment later, words slightly muffled around the noodles in his mouth.

“Yeah, just need the finishing paragraph. You almost done eating so you can tell me what the problem is?” Beomgyu glanced up for just a moment before he went back to typing. 

“There’s a boy. In my class.”

Beomgyu frowned, reading over one of his sentences to make sure it made grammatical sense. “No way, that’s crazy.” 

Yeonjun kicked him under the table and stood up, sipping at the last of the broth in the cup before throwing it out. He stood by the sink, letting the moment play out just to get on Beomgyu’s nerves, especially since his boyfriend seemed satisfied with what he had written and was in the process of posting it to the class website. As soon as he was done, Beomgyu closed the laptop and turned his attention fully on Yeonjun, giving him an unimpressed look. That just made Yeonjun cross his arms. 

Beomgyu was the first to crumble. “Ok, so there’s a boy in your class. What’s the problem with him?”

Yeonjun took a deep breath, moving to sit back down again so that he could look Beomgyu in the eye from across the table.

“I think I might… _like_ him.” He stopped there, letting his boyfriend absorb that tidbit of information.

Beomgyu just snorted.

“Just because I have a crush on someone doesn’t mean you have to copy me. Trying to make me jealous?” It was a joke, Beomgyu was smirking at him like he wasn’t in Yeonjun’s shoes just a couple months ago, and Yeonjun tried to kick him under the table again but Beomgyu dodged the kick this time around. Little brat. 

“Would you get jealous if I really did like someone else?”

“Just say you want to dump me and go.” Beomgyu quipped back. 

Yeonjun frowned. They were joking, this was the way they tended to play around with each other. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t an underlying insecurity in these jokes. There wasn’t a future without Beomgyu in his life, and he was sure that Beomgyu felt the same about him. But still, life was unpredictable in that way. He would be lying if he didn’t say there were moments he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for Beomgyu to realize he could do better than his childhood friend. Waiting for one or both of them to come to terms with the fact that maybe they were only ever really meant to just be friends. But friends didn’t feel like a strong enough word for what they were, and he loved Beomgyu more than anything. He didn’t want these kinds of doubts between them. He stood up, walking to Beomgyu’s side and holding the other’s face gently, tilting his head up so that he could look into his boyfriend’s eyes. 

“I am in love with your stupid ass,” Yeonjun pushed their foreheads together before Beomgyu could protest as his choice of words. “And no crush is going to stop me from being your boyfriend. You’re stuck with me, I just wanted to let you know what was happening.”

“I appreciate it,” Beomgyu let out a soft little sigh, nuzzling their noses together. “And no, I’m not mad. I get it. What’s his name?”

Yeonjun grinned, stealing a quick kiss before pulling away. 

“You won’t even tell me _your_ crush’s name, what makes you think I’ll tell you mine?”

A moment of silence settled between them, Beomgyu scrutinizing Yeonjun’s little smirk with a frown. 

“Because unlike me, you have no shame. You don’t even know his name do you?”  


Well. He couldn’t deny that.

* * *

Yeonjun had sat down in his usual seat in the lecture hall, a couple minutes early once again just in case hoodie boy was around. He wasn’t, so Yeonjun just went to scrolling through instagram, earbuds in and music on full blast. He hadn’t heard anyone calling for him and hadn’t paid much attention to the other students filing in slowly bit by bit, but he almost jumped out of his skin when someone’s hand tapped him. He whipped around, taking one of his earbuds out to see hoodie boy standing there, looking a little sheepish for startling him.

“Oh!” Yeonjun said smartly, ripping out his other earbud a little too fast. The bud slipped out of his hand, bounced on the desk and rolled off. Well, shit, very graceful Yeonjun, good job. But hoodie boy just laughed, bending down to grab the ear bud and putting it gently in Yeonjun’s palm before sitting down at his own desk.

“Sorry about that,” hoodie boy pulled down his hood this time, ruffling his dark hair to get his bangs out of his eyes. Yeonjun tried not to openly stare. Hoodie boy had a soft, cute face,fluffy hair and now that Yeonjun was focused on it, he couldn’t help but notice the large hands. Yeonjun wouldn’t mind having them on him, just a little bit. 

_Ok, reel it in and say something, idiot._

“It’s ok, I just didn’t hear you,” he tried for a casual grin. Hoodie boy nodded, watching him, and Yeonjun hoped the heat spreading across his face wasn’t so noticeable. Was he really that rusty talking to boys he liked? This is what he got for being in a relationship ever since being an awkward, gangly teen. He must have lost his edge, if he even had any to begin with. 

“I just thought I’d say hi since we always sit next to each other,” hoodie boy didn’t put his hood back up, which was a definite plus. And they were _talking_. This was a definite improvement. Yeonjun saw his opportunity and he was going to take it, dammit. 

“What’s your name?” He blurted out, realizing the second it left his mouth that it was not even close to the smooth, casual way he had wanted to speak to his classmate. But it was going to be ok, he could fix this. He leaned casually on his desk, propped up on his elbow like he hadn’t sounded like a desperate freak. “I’m Yeonjun. Thanks again. For the pen, I mean.”

“It was just a pen, no need to thank me,” hoodie boy smiled, dimples and all. God, he was cute. “I’m Soobin.”

* * *

Yeonjun slammed open the door to their apartment and stormed in, tossing his book bag to the side. This was not the first or the last time he would make a dramatic entrance when he knew Beomgyu was home. At this point, his boyfriend didn’t even glance up from the tv, even when Yeonjun hovered, waiting to be acknowledged. Well, whatever, he’d get Beomgyu’s attention soon enough. 

“Choi Soobin!” He stated it confidently, looking like he had won something. 

He expected a raised brow from Beomgyu, maybe his boyfriend would continue to pretend to ignore him just to be a punk. He did not expect Beomgyu to drop the controller mid channel scroll, the device falling to the floor with enough force that the batteries popped out and rolled on the carpet underneath the coffee table. Beomgyu slowly turned towards him, wide eyed.

“How did you find out?” Beomgyu sounded startled. 

“What?”

Beomgyu looked at him for a moment, took in the way Yeonjun looked at him like he had grown an extra head. Yeonjun watched the gears turn in his head before his boyfriend blinked and his face smoothed out into something a little more neutral. 

Beomgyu cleared his throat. “Sorry, what are you talking about?”

“My crush? The kid in my class with the dimples and hoodie? He told me his name today. It’s Soobin, so you can’t make fun of me anymore for not asking,” Yeonjun crouched, hands reaching for the batteries under the table while he let Beomgyu process his words. 

“Choi Soobin…” Beomgyu muttered, eyes lowering in suspicion. “He’s got dimples. Is he tall? Kind of awkward?”

Yeonjun nodded excitedly, popping the batteries back into the remote and looking extremely satisfied with himself. 

“Big hands too,” he waggled his eyebrows. “Though I wouldn’t call him awkward, he’s just kind of quiet. Why? You seen him around?”

Beomgyu simply continued to stare. Was he not feeling well? Usually he always had something to say. Especially something teasing about Yeonjun having a crush now that he wasn’t the only one. But no, he just stared, looking at Yeonjun like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“Well?” Yeonjun laughed, a little nervous under the scrutiny. “Do you know him? What’s wrong?Is he weird?”

“You’re an idiot.”

Yeonjun looked affronted. “What? Why?”

“I’m an idiot.” Beomgyu looked down at his hands, as if he was contemplating his very existence. 

“Beomgyu, babe, you’re scaring me-“

“You can’t like Choi Soobin,” Beomgyu looked up, laughing a little as he gave Yeonjun a funny look. “Because _I_ like Choi Soobin."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some revelations happen. Poorly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's part two. Let me know how it's going so far. There's a little bit more kissing in this one, but also not quite enough, as it turns out. Lots of changing povs as is the case in this story, but it's been fun to write.

Yeonjun joked about how predictable they both were, falling for the same boy. But now the question was no longer “hey, so I have a boyfriend but he’s cool with me liking you, want to try it out?” Now it was more like a “So I have a boyfriend _and_ I have a crush on you but don’t worry, he likes you too. Wanna go out with us?” Slightly easier for the both of them, slightly more complicated for their potential dating life. 

Yeonjun wasn’t really sure where to start. Now hoodie boy- _Soobin_ \- knew his name and they were talking before and after class, though Soobin still usually left fairly quickly. Yeonjun found out it was because he tended to meet up with Beomgyu for coffee right afterwards. The conversations he was having with Soobin in class were fairly mundane, nothing deep or meaningful, and they never made plans outside of class. Yeonjun had considered letting Beomgyu pull him along for their coffee runs, as his boyfriend had suggested. After all, it was an easy way to organically bring them all together. Yeonjun could walk down the hall, running into Beomgyu and Soobin talking. Beomgyu could greet him and establish they knew each other. Easy. 

Except Yeonjun had declined, because, well, it was kind of weird. Would he act like he was just Beomgyu’s friend? What if someone who knew their relationship ran into them? They hadn’t necessarily talked about how they were going to tackle this situation and Yeonjun was feeling wildly unprepared.

_‘Oh hey! That’s my boyfriend! How do you feel about him? He seems to think maybe you’re sending him signals you like him and thats cool cuz I want you two to get together. Maybe me too?’_

Yeah, that was going to go over so well and he definitely wasn’t going to look like some creep looking for a casual third. 

* * *

Yeonjun lounged on the couch channel surfing as he usually did after dinner. He dutifully peeled a tangerine, popping a piece in his mouth happily. He almost jumped when the doorbell rang unexpectently, Beomgyu hurrying out of the bedroom with a quick ‘I got it!’ Honestly, Yeonjun should have seen the signs. Beomgyu, who rarely could be bothered to pick up a vacuum on a good day, had tidied up their living space. It was also a Wednesday evening, neither of them having plans to go out anywhere, and yet Beomgyu wasn’t in his usual loungewear. 

“Did you order something?” 

“No, just forgot I invited a classmate over to study,” Beomgyu shrugged, giving Yeonjun a once over and pausing in his tracks. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

"Is there a problem with what I’m wearing?” Yeonjun scoffed. He was in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, an extremely normal outfit choice when you’re in the privacy of your own home thank you very much. “Sorry, am I going to offend your guest?”

“Just change into jeans or something at least. Trust me,” Beomgyu rolled his eyes, walking to the door as the doorbell rang again. Yeonjun muttered some choice words and walked back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him as he went to find some pants. 

He wasn’t going to be wearing jeans, the very idea of getting into real clothes again after such a long day offended him. Instead, he threw his pajamas on the bed and rifled around the closet for a softer pair of pants that had the same comfortable fit to them. That should be acceptable enough, even if he didn’t understand why Beomgyu cared. He could hear his boyfriend engaging with their guest in the living room, but it was muffled just enough that he didn’t recognize the voice. Surely it wasn’t anyone who cared all that much about a fellow college student in pajama pants. Yeonjun tucked his shirt into his new pants with a little annoyed grunt, throwing the bedroom door open wide to greet whoever Beomgyu invited over.

“I’m decent now,” he declared just to be a brat. 

“Yeonjun-ssi?”

Yeonjun blinked, taking in the scene in front of him. The couch was situated with its back facing the bedroom door, and Beomgyu sat there with his guest, both of them turned to stare. Yeonjun was met with the surprised wide eyes of his classmate and current crush, Soobin. 

“Oh,” Beomgyu said lightly. Soobin still had his head turned towards Yeonjun so he missed the sly curl of Beomgyu’s smile. “I didn’t know you two knew each other. Small world.”

Yeonjun was going to throttle him. 

“Hey,” he said instead, smoothing out the pants and trying to casually shut the bedroom door to keep Soobin from seeing the mess he made inside. “Yeah. Weird.”

“Oh, is he your roommate?” Soobin turned back to Beomgyu, who had successfully made his expression a little less evil looking. 

“Yeah, roommates,” Yeonjun answered for him, giving Beomgyu a pointed look to let him know this would certainly be talked about later. He headed back to his spot on the couch, where his tangerine lay half eaten. “So this is your study date huh?”

Soobin laughed a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn’t in a hoodie tonight, just a simple graphic black tee with his black leather jacket still on. It felt almost scandalous to see the other in different clothes. Yeonjun cursed himself for finding the bare minimum so attractive once again. Beomgyu, on the other hand, looked excessively pleased with himself as he stood up, heading towards the kitchen to get drinks, leaving them to sit alone with each other.

Yeonjun popped another tangerine piece in his mouth, tapping his foot against the carpet for lack of anything better to do. He wasn’t a shy person at all, but considering this was his crush and his boyfriend’s crush and he was sitting down on their couch thinking Yeonjun and Beomgyu were roommates, no one could blame him for the awkward silence that settled. 

“It’s nice seeing you again,” Soobin ventured and Yeonjun couldn’t help but smile a little at that. He was so cute. 

“Yeah, I didn’t know you knew my roommate,” it felt weird coming out of his mouth, but he pressed on. “And since we know each other and you obviously know Beomgyu, you can call me hyung. I don’t mind.” 

Soobin looked a little surprised but he smiled softly, nodding. “Ok, hyung.”

Yeah Yeonjun was going to absolutely throttle Beomgyu later for this one.

“Glad to see you two getting along,” Beomgyu said it cheerfully, cans of soda in his hands as he came back into the room. But he didn’t take his spot next to Soobin again, instead he walked over to Yeonjun’s side, placing the drinks down and pushing Yeonjun to move over. It wasn’t very subtle but Yeonjun wasn’t going to draw more attention to it, and he moved until he was sitting next to Soobin as Beomgyu sat on his other side. 

“Don’t you want to sit next to your study date?” Yeonjun laughed to take away some of the tension, as he tried to act casual while sitting so close to Soobin now. It was different than being in class. Soobin was in his home, on his couch, and he didn’t have his usual sleepy first class of the day look. His eyes were alert and bright and focused on Yeonjun in a way he was not ready to address just yet. 

“Nah, this is fine,” Beomgyu waved him off, reaching over him to pass Soobin a drink. “I was thinking maybe you could help us study. Is that okay _hyung_?”

Yeonjun could feel his eye twitch, ready to calmly but firmly take himself out of this situation with a lot of underlying ‘you will be dealt with later’ energy. But his perfect plan of peacing out gracefully was foiled when Soobin turned to him with that cute little smile and those bright eyes, looking expectant. 

“Sure,” Yeonjun found himself saying, torn between feeling mildly panicked that Soobin’s attention was so fully on him, and glad he wasn’t looking at Beomgyu right now. He knew his boyfriend would be smirking like the little jerk he was. 

They had their class notes splayed over the coffee table, and they spent time looking over them as they peeled and ate tangerines. Soobin was a pleasant houseguest, cleaning up the peels and laughing along at one of Beomgyu’s stupid jokes. Even though Yeonjun was between them, he could tell how they gravitated to each other. And they looked good together, Soobin finally shedding his leather jacket to get more comfortable, all broad and big where Beomgyu was small. They were comfortable around each other in a way that led to light ribbing and easy banter. Sometimes Soobin would reach around Yeonjun to push at Beomgyu or try to grab him when he said something sarcastic. He would bump against Yeonjun, long arm reaching behind him to grab at Beomgyu’s cardigan before he could scoot away with a giggle. 

Yeonjun felt weird in his stomach, a pang of jealousy. But it wasn’t the fact that his boyfriend was obviously being flirty with another guy. No, that part was fascinating. After all, he and Beomgyu had been dating for years, it was fun to watch him interact with his crush. No, he wasn’t jealous because of that. He just wanted some attention for himself. And to maybe get back at Beomgyu a little for pulling this surprise on him. If he was going to be in this situation anyway, he might as well show how in control of the situation he could be. 

“So, Soobin,” he said it lightly, patting the other’s knee, just once. The touch had the intended effect, Soobin turned from his conversation with Beomgyu. Yeonjun smiled, looking up through his lashes, scooting closer. He didn’t miss the way Soobin’s eyes widened just a fraction. “You live in the dorms right? It must be hard to have people over like this, huh?”

“Beomgyu comes over sometimes,” Soobin looked up at Beomgyu. Yeonjun couldn’t see what Beomgyu was doing, but whatever it was, it made Soobin smirk a little in amusement and that was a sight Yeonjun most definitely wanted to see more. “We usually study in the library though.”

“And I said that’s stupid, he should just come over here so no one has to sign in at the dorm,” Beomgyu chimed in, and he must have felt mildly left out as well, because he draped himself over Yeonjun’s back. It forced Yeonjun forward into Soobin’s space. He let out an annoyed grunt, but Beomgyu just wrapped his arms around his shoulders and didn’t let go. 

“I hate to say it but he’s not wrong,” Yeonjun muttered, flicking at Beomgyu’s arm until he let up a little bit so that the chance of Yeonjun’s face landing right into Soobin’s chest was a little less of an actual threat. “You can come by anytime you want. I don’t mind.”

“Didn’t think you would,” Beomgyu’s mouth hovered somewhere close to his ear. Yeonjun elbowed him in the ribs this time, and that did the trick. His boyfriend let go with a grunt and finally scooted back slightly. 

Soobin laughed at Beomgyu’s expense. Yeah, Yeonjun could get used to having him around.“I’ll think about it. I get enough of Beomgyu as it is.”

“Hey, I’m a _joy_ to be around. Right Jjuni?” Beomgyu’s finger jabbed against Yeonjun’s side when he didn’t answer fast enough. “ _Righ_ t?”

“Yes, dear,” Yeonjun rolled his eyes, slinging an arm around Beomgyu’s neck to bring him in so that he could ruffle his hair. That seemed to make Soobin laugh even harder. 

“Thank you for the offer,” Soobin said sincerely, before looking at his phone with a sigh. “It’s getting kind of late though, I should head out. Thank you for having me.”

“Anytime, Soobinnie,” Yeonjun smiled sweetly at him, enjoying the way the nickname seemed to make Soobin look maybe a little flustered, if he could give himself that. “Don’t be a stranger now.”

“Soobinnie huh?” It was the first thing that came out of Beomgyu’s mouth the second their front door closed behind Soobin. Yeonjun just got him back into a headlock again, really giving him a noogie this time. 

“I’m going to kick your ass.”

“I just wanted to surprise you,” Beomgyu yelped, wiggling and trying to loosen the other’s grip to no avail. “It was cute watching you get flustered around your little crush.”

“I’ll show you cute,” Yeonjun pushed Beomgyu down onto the couch, straddling him. His boyfriend still tried to squirm and kick but Yeonjun just grabbed his arms, pushing them above his head and pinning them in place. “You’re such a brat.”

Beomgyu just stuck his tongue out at him, which Yeonjun countered by leaning down and kissing the smug look right off his face. 

* * *

Soobin let out a sigh of relief as soon as the door closed behind him. It was far easier to deal with being in such close proximity to Beomgyu when they were at the library or at his dorm, where his roommate was almost constantly around. As much as he liked having time when it was just the two of them, studying so close together in an enclosed, private space was another thing all together. Soobin hated studying, especially for these electives that he was forced to take. His mind would always wander and if he was with Beomgyu, it always wandered into dangerous territory like confessed feelings and kissing. Better to be around a bunch of outside stimuli that didn’t make it so painfully obvious that he was sitting so close and alone with Beomgyu. 

That’s why he was hesitant to go over to Beomgyu’s apartment, though he thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they stayed in the common area where Beomgyu’s roommate might be present. He wasn’t expecting that roommate to be Yeonjun. It seemed silly now, to rush out the door to meet Beomgyu when he could just head out with Beomgyu’s roommate and meet him. Maybe Yeonjun-hyung would go get coffee with them now? 

Soobin felt his face warm up. They had gotten super familiar super fast and now he was invited to spend his study sessions at their apartment. An enclosed space alone with not only his crush, but his crush’s very pretty roommate. What could possibly go wrong with that? 

* * *

Turns out, Yeonjun did join them for coffee. They saw each other in class the next week, and when it was over, Yeonjun hooked his arm around Soobin’s before he could make his usual rush out the door. Soobin froze for a moment but Yeonjun didn’t let up, giving him a challenging little look. 

"You always rush off and I know you don’t have class,” he teased, finally pulling his arm away to gather his own things. He grinned at Soobin’s look of surprise. “Beomgyu told me you guys hang out sometimes after class. I’m jealous, let me in on your little club too.”

“We don’t really do anything. I would rather go back to my room and nap, but we end up getting coffee instead,” Soobin shrugged, but he did wait for Yeonjun to join him. 

“Coffee sounds great,” Yeonjun didn’t hook their arms again but he did stand close by Soobin’s side as they left. “I’ll text him to let him know to meet us at the cafe.” 

Soobin just nodded, unsure of how to process the fact he was no longer going to be just plagued by one cute boy but two. 

Beomgyu met them at the cafe, insisting once again to pay for Soobin’s coffee, though he declined to pay for Yeonjun’s. 

“That’s not fair,” Yeonjun griped, his full lips turning into a pretty pout that Soobin pretended not to notice. “You’re really not going to pay for your b- roommate?”  


Beomgyu stuck his tongue out at him. “Maybe if you convince me, I will, hyung. Aren’t you supposed to be paying for both of us anyway? You’re the oldest.”

“Soobinnie, he’s being mean to me,” Yeonjun turned that pout on Soobin and he wondered how Beomgyu was so immune to it. He certainly wasn’t.

“I can get it,” he offered instead. “You’re always paying for me anyway, Beomgyu.”

That seemed to settle the matter, as both of the others lit up as if they were excited Soobin was going to treat them. He rolled his eyes at the both of them, vowing to make sure this didn’t become some kind of habit. As much as it hurt his hyung pride to have his drinks paid for him by Beomgyu constantly, he wasn’t about to start paying for all three of them just to keep them from fighting. 

* * *

“Give me a sip,” Beomgyu opened his mouth, waiting. Soobin didn’t bother commenting on how demanding he sounded, just passed the cup over. Beomgyu popped the straw in his mouth, definitely taking more than “just a sip.” Soobin grabbed it back fast.

Beomgyu’s eyes lit up. “Wow! That’s really good.”

“Well, yeah. Maybe if you drank something you actually enjoy instead of forcing down americanos,” Soobin moved the cup away from Beomgyu’s grabby hands. 

“Hey, it’s about the caffeine. I need it,” Beomgyu stuck his nose up, sipping his iced americano and almost hiding the slight grimace at the bitter taste. “Yeonjun-hyung drinks them all the time so I’m used to it.” 

“You said you two have been together for a while, huh?”

Beomgyu squinted at him suspiciously, shaking the ice in his cup. “Living together? Yeah. We’ve known each other since high school.” 

They both had a gap between classes and because it was a rainy, gloomy day, the cafe had been too packed to hang out in. Yeonjun was also busy with something, so Soobin signed Beomgyu into his dorm and now they were just sitting in the soft silence. Soobin leaned back on the headboard of his bed, feeling drowsy from the sound of rain hitting his window. 

“See? You need caffeine, you look like you’re about to fall asleep.” Beomgyu teased him, jumping up from where he was sitting on the floor and shoving the iced americano towards Soobin. “Here.”

“No, that’s gross,” Soobin scrunched his nose, pushing the cup away. It just made Beomgyu push harder, jumping up on the bed and pushing the cup forward with a wicked little grin. 

“It’s _mature_ , not your java chip blended whatever with extra whip. Drink up.”

Soobin laughed at that, scooting so that he was fully siting up, though he was still pinned between Beomgyu and his headboard. Beomgyu knew he had him cornered now, moving into Soobin’s personal space and shoving the cup at him with an eyebrow wiggle and a grin. Soobin moved to push the offending cup out of his face, exaggerating his disgusted frown. That just made Beomgyu laugh hard, the hand he was propped up on slipping underneath him on the sheets. He toppled forward onto the other’s chest, Soobin quickly grabbing the cup in Beomgyu’s hand before it could go flying. 

“Shit,” Beomgyu stifled his laughter immediately. Both of his hands were on Soobin’s thighs in order to lift himself up, looking around for where his cup went. He sighed in relief when he saw it in Soobin’s hand. “Sorry.”

Soobin was ready to make a joke at his friend's expense, but Beomgyu lifted his head up and met his eyes. They were face to face now, inches apart, Beomgyu’s hands in Soobin’s lap.They were usually physically affectionate, so it wasn’t necessarily weird, but it was never like this. They were close enough to kiss, the idea roaring to life in Soobin’s mind. 

“It’s ok…” his voice trailed off, clutching the stupid americano cup in his hand. With his other hand, he moved to hold Beomgyu by his shoulder to steady him. He wanted to cup Beomgyu’s face gently, but he couldn’t find the courage. “You all right?”

“Yeah.” Maybe it was Soobin’s imagination, but Beomgyu's voice sounded soft, breathy in a way he had never heard it before. It looked like he was taking in a deep breath, though he made no move to back away, gaze dropping slightly to his hands. They were still clutching Soobin’s thighs, fingers squeezing slightly. “Thanks.”

Maybe this was the moment.His roommate was out of the room, Yeonjun wasn’t around. It would be so easy to lean forward, to ask if Beomgyu liked him with their lips barely brushing. Maybe Beomgyu would say ‘yes’ in that same breathy way. That idea made Soobin’s heart race. They were so close but he moved himself forward in an attempt to bring them closer, feeling his face heat up at the idea that this was happening, he was finally going to ask-

“What are you doing, dude?” Was not the response he expected. Beomgyu grinned and used Soobin’s thighs to push himself backwards, making distance between the two of them. 

Right. What the hell did he think was about to happen?

“Just trying to get you off,” Soobin muttered, before realizing his choice of words and quickly changing his expression into something more mildly annoyed. “Off my bed, I mean. You almost spilled this all over it.”

* * *

He was still thinking about that incident. Beomgyu had brushed it off so easily, like Soobin hadn’t looked like he was obviously trying to kiss him. They spent another half hour just hanging out on Soobin’s bed, Beomgyu’s chin on Soobin’s shoulder as he watched him play games on his laptop. Soobin tried to act natural but his stomach curled in knots every time Beomgyu turned to make fun of him for falling off the map and getting eliminated. He could feel Beomgyu’s breath against his neck and it made him feel hot and jittery. 

Soobin should have been used to having his best friend in such close proximity, should have gotten past the whole incident by now. It was the look in Beomgyu’s eyes, though, when they were facing each other on the bed. It looked expectant, almost hopeful, like he wanted Soobin to close that gap. But then Beomgyu had pulled away so fast, making him wonder if maybe it really truly was his wishful thinking. 

“Soobinnie?” 

A hand waved across his vision and he blinked, looking up to see Yeonjun giving him an amused look. He realized that he had been zoning out for the majority of class and now people were gathering their things and heading out. Shit, he would have to ask Yeonjun for the notes later. 

“Oh, sorry,” he shook his head, quickly moving to pick up his unused notebook and pen. 

“You good?” Yeonjun put a hand on his shoulder and leaned into Soobin’s space. He must have taken a tip from Beomgyu, neither of them that shy about being in his bubble now.

“Just tired,” Soobin shot him a grin to prove all was good. Like he definitely was not thinking about kissing Yeonjun’s roommate. Yeonjun seemed to accept that answer and suggested coffee, though a quick text to Beomgyu showed that the younger was too busy cramming for a quiz to join them. 

They sat down at their usual table, pushed into an awkward corner away from the windows. It wasn’t an ideal view but that’s what made it so easy to snatch up. Soobin felt a little nervous. Beomgyu was talkative and they had games they could play or talk about. Yeonjun was just as talkative but Soobin hadn’t gotten used to spending time with just the two of them. When Beomgyu was around, they could include him in the conversations and it felt like a safe little buffer.

“If you’re that tired, you should drink this,” Yeonjun gestured to the iced americano in his hand.

“Your roommate said the same thing,” Soobin smiled but declined the offer to take a sip of Yeonjun’s. It was giving him a serious sense of deja vu. “So you’re the reason he’s got such an intense caffeine addiction.” 

Yeonjun gave him an amused smile, playing with the straw idly. “He shouldn’t blame me. He stays up way too late playing games online with a _certain someone_ we know. He won’t listen to me at all when I tell him to go to bed and he keeps me up with his yelling.”

Soobin could imagine it. When they played over voice, he was usually the one Beomgyu was yelling at over his headset. At least his own roommate was up at all hours texting his girlfriend, so Soobin didn’t have anyone to wake up when he yelled back. “Sorry about that. You could always join along if you’re not going to get any sleep anyway.”

“No thanks, nerd,” Yeonjun scrunched his nose up, and even though he was being picked on, Soobin couldn’t help but find it cute. “That’s your guys’ thing. Wouldn’t want to take that away from you two.” 

“It’s not like it’s ‘our thing’ exclusively. We would include you.” The more the merrier, Soobin thought as he took a sip of his own drink.

“You’re so cute.” Yeonjun put his elbows on the table, leaning forward a little as Soobin sputtered on his sip. The pink haired boy was grinning at him, but his eyes were soft, sweeping over Soobin’s face. It had to be bright red with how warm it felt. 

“It’s ok. I like watching you two,” Yeonjun continued, hand reaching out to touch Soobin’s briefly before pulling back all together and picking his bag up. “Ah, but I have to get going. Catch you later, Bin?” 

He could only nod dumbly. Yeonjun winked at him and headed out. 

* * *

“I want to kiss him,” Yeonjun whined, flopping on top of Beomgyu on their bed. He ignored the other's protests and dodged the elbow trying to dig into his side. Beomgyu gave up after that, resigned to let himself be crushed under the other’s weight. 

“Get in line,” his voice was strained. Yeonjun took pity on him and rolled over, pushing the bangs out of his eyes. His hair was getting long but he didn’t feel like cutting it just yet. 

“One of us should at least make a move, don’t you think?” Yeonjun was like this with everything. When he had his eyes set on something, he was determined to see it through. It wasn’t even a competition, but Beomgyu knew he was getting tired of both of them floundering on the issue. 

“I think he almost tried kissing me,” Beomgyu admitted, curling into Yeonjun’s side and holding him down when his boyfriend tried to sit up in excitement. 

Yeonjun looked at him expectantly, “And?” 

“I asked him what he thought he was doing,” Beomgyu mumbled it into Yeonjun’s shoulder. The other let out a cackle.

“You didn’t!”

Beomgyu bristled, sitting up and glaring down at him. “I panicked, ok?” 

Yeonjun just smirked, reaching up so that he could grab the back of Beomgyu’s neck. He pulled the other down, the tips of their noses bumping. He bit his lip, eyes glinting in the way they always did when he wanted to cause a problem. 

“What do you think kissing him is like? I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Beomgyu snorted, settling himself more comfortably over his boyfriend. He grabbed the hand around his neck and pressed it softly down into the pillow beside Yeonjun’s head. The other didn’t fight it, interlocking their fingers as he continued to watch Beomgyu intently. 

“You’re thinking about it right now, aren’t you?” Beomgyu didn’t wait for the other’s answer. He bent, pressing their mouths together, a slow kiss, unrushed. Yeonjun hummed into his mouth, delighted, pressing his tongue against the seam of Beomgyu’s lips until the other opened for him. Yeonjun lapped into his mouth greedily, and they kissed like that for a while before Beomgyu’s arm got tired from holding him up, and he pulled away with a soft sound. 

Yeonjun licked his upper lip, looking entirely too pleased as he sat himself up. 

“Don’t tell me you aren’t thinking about it all the time too.”

* * *

It was normal friend stuff, Soobin would remind himself. This is what you do with friends, it isn’t like he never had any. But Soobin all ready had a crush on Beomgyu that just seemed to get worse by the day. Now, he had a crush on Beomgyu’s roommate too. Maybe he _was_ a stereotype, falling for cute boys who gave him attention. 

He didn’t want to think too deeply into it, but he couldn’t help the inevitable thoughts that plagued him. When Beomgyu cuddled up against his shoulder while watching tv, what would it be like to lean down and kiss him? When Yeonjun winked and blew a kiss when Soobin caught his eye during class, what would happen if he returned it?

It was starting to become a problem.

“So you’re telling me,” Taehyun’s voice was muffled over the phone, and his face wasn’t in frame. Instead, Soobin got a corner of Aengdu’s cage, and he squinted in an attempt to see if the snake was hiding somewhere. He never did find out, Taehyun finally picking up the phone properly so they could see each other. “Two boys were nice to you and wanted to become your friend and now you’re in love with them?”

“They’re very pretty,” Soobin reasoned. He could hear loud laughter in the background of Taehyun’s room. “Huening, at least pretend to care about my plight.”

The phone was taken from Taehyun’s hands, Huening Kai’s face coming into view. 

“You know I always care about what you’re going through, hyung!” He bat his lashes at Soobin, giving him a cutesy pout. As much as he tried to not be affected by it, Soobin couldn’t suppress a grin. “I just let Taehyun give all the sage advice, he’s better at it.”

“He’s not wrong,” Taehyun grabbed the phone back and angled it so they could both be in the frame. “So you really like them both?”

“I think so,” Soobin laid back on his bed, a rare moment where his roommate was out with a friend so he had time to complain to his two closest friends. “I mean, I liked one of them longer, but they’re both really fun to be around. When we're together, it feels really nice? And then all I can think about is like, what if I kissed them? But I obviously can't do that to both of them."

“Draw straws?” Huening shrugged. 

“ _Or,_ maybe consider which one of them likes you back, if they do,” Taehyun was always the more reasonable of the two of them. “What if they both like you?They’re roommates. That would be awkward.”

Soobin thought about it. “I’m not sure. I _think_ they both might like me, but they kind of joke around like that even with each other. I can’t really tell.” 

“You should figure that out first,” Taehyun shrugged, holding the phone in one hand and a tablet in the other. He and Huening were playing a game side by side on his bed.“And then you can decide what the next plan of action is. Just don’t make it too complicated, they’re your only friends there.”

“I have other friends,” Soobin pouted, but resigned himself to his fate. “Fine, yeah, you’re right. I’ll scope it out first. Can you guys graduate all ready so I don’t have to call you every time I need advice?” 

“We might not even go to the same school as you,” Taehyun spoke over Huening’s shriek. “And I don’t want to have to hold your hand forever.”

“Yeah whatever, sorry for interrupting your date.”

“Dammit, the imposter won,” Huening laughed, fixing his bangs as he looked into the camera.“You’ll have dates too, hyung. Just go ask them both out. If one rejects you, maybe the other won’t!”

“The more people, the higher the probability of someone saying yes,” Taehyun shrugged, but he did look back up into the camera with a little smile. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, hyung. Don’t overcomplicate things.”

“Yeah,” Soobin checked the time and sighed. It was getting kind of late for all of them. “Thanks for listening to me, love you guys.”

“Bye hyungie! Love you!” Huening waved emphatically, making Taehyun and Soobin laugh. They said their goodbyes and hung up. They weren’t wrong. Maybe Soobin just had to actually gauge the situation and stop making excuses as to why he couldn’t ask one of them out. 

* * *

“Soobin-ah,” Yeonjun grinned at him as he sat down. “What are you doing this Friday? Want to hang out at my place?”

Soobin didn’t have any weekend plans beyond maybe hopping online to play some games with his friends. “Sure, I’ll come over.”

Yeonjun smiled wider, but then he looked a little hesitant, biting at his lip. “Beomgyu is kind of busy that night so it might just be the two of us. That ok?”

Soobin nodded, setting out his notebook as the professor started attendance. Yeonjun tended to be more up to date with movies and television shows than Beomgyu was. They would probably end up eating junk food and binging something on tv. He glanced over to watch the older boy idly chew on the end of his pen while he looked at his textbook. Having a crush on one boy was enough of a headache, but Soobin still wondered what it would be like to kiss his hyung too. Maybe he was selfish. He couldn’t stop thinking about them both.

‘ _Or you’re stupidly horny’_ a voice that sounded suspiciously like Taehyun’s echoed in his mind.

* * *

Soobin rang the doorbell of his friend’s apartment and was greeted by a sight he hadn’t seen before. Yeonjun’s bright pink hair was slicked back slightly, showing his forehead and the soft pink eyeshadow he had applied. It was a surprise, since Soobin normally didn’t see the other with much if any make up during the week. There was even a little gloss on the other’s plump lips, which turned up into a little playful grin as Soobin realized that Yeonjun had caught him staring a little too long at them.

“You gonna come in or what?” Yeonjun raised an eyebrow at him before stepping aside so that he could enter. 

Soobin felt like he couldn’t calm down. There was so much space on the couch but Yeonjun insisted on sitting right next to him, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh. Yeonjun had one of his arm’s slung over the back of the couch, his other hand lazily scrolling through Netflix offerings. It seemed he wasn’t aware of the distress Soobin was feeling right now. He kept his eyes staring blankly ahead so that he wouldn’t get caught staring at Yeonjun’s pretty face.Or his legs in the tight jeans he was currently wearing. 

“There’s a couple of dramas that caught my interest. Or we could just watch a movie,” Yeonjun commented, pouting in concentration as he looked over titles. He turned to Soobin, head tilted. “What do you think?”

“Sorry, what?” Soobin blinked, realizing that he had been so focused on _not_ focusing on Yeonjun, that he hadn’t heard him. He turned, bracing himself. Yeonjun’s sharp eyes looked darker with the makeup, his glossy lips moving into a little grin as he looked into Soobin’s eyes. 

“You seem distracted,” Yeonjun fully faced the other, propping his elbow on the back of the couch and holding his head in his hand. “We don’t have to watch anything, if you don’t want to. There are other things we could do.” 

Soobin dry swallowed, as the realization hit him all at once. This was an invitation, he wasn’t so dense to think it wasn’t. He turned so that he was truly eye to eye with Yeonjun, eyes flicking from the other’s dark gaze to his mouth. He had wondered what it would be like to kiss his hyung, to press his lips against those plump ones. Yeonjun raised a brow, grin still plastered on his face as if to ask Soobin what he was waiting for.

Really, what _was_ he waiting for? A part of his brain still flashed with images of Beomgyu that day in his dorm. It looked like Beomgyu wanted Soobin to kiss him too, but he had backed off, hadn’t he? And here Yeonjun was, open and relaxed, waiting for Soobin to lean in. He could do that. He would do it. With a deep breath he started to inch himself forward, cheeks heating up when Yeonjun’s grin grew. 

Yeonjun’s phone blared from his pocket, causing them both to jump. 

“Shit,” Yeonjun cursed, standing up to fish the phone out of his tight back pocket. He was inclined to press decline and throw it across the room, but Beomgyu’s name flashed across the caller ID. He sighed, gesturing at Soobin to let him know to wait. He accepted the call. “This better be good.”

“Damn, sorry,” He could just imagine Beomgyu rolling his eyes. “Look, I forgot a book for this group project. I need you to take a picture of the beginning of chapter ten and send it to me.”

“That couldn’t wait? I’m kind of busy,” Yeonjun flashed Soobin an apologetic smile.

“No, this is the final stretch and I just need this one stupid quote that I can’t remember off the top of my head and of course this stupid thing doesn’t have an ebook version I can get. This professor is the fucking worse, just do it real quick. Please?”

“Ok, ok, where is it?” Yeonjun resigned, all ready walking over to the bedroom. 

“Thank you, I owe you. It’s on the bookshelf closest to the dresser, I think. The big blue one I stacked on top of my English book.”

Yeonjun looked at the overpacked bookshelf. It was there, just like Beomgyu said, but it was _wedged_ in there, clearly forced into an all ready overcrowded shelf. He rubbed his temple in annoyance. 

“Ok let me pry it out of the damn shelf. I’ll text you. Bye,” He didn’t wait to hear what Beomgyu said, hanging up and moving to grab the book. It was stuck, and it didn’t help that there were trinkets and photographs crammed around it. He gave a sharp tug, letting out a little triumphant noise as it started to slip out, before realizing his mistake. Dislodging the book had made the heavy English book underneath it pop out as well, taking three photo frames, an action figure and a heavy crystal paper weight down with it. They clattered on the floor loudly, the corner of a photo frame hitting his toe. He let out a loud yelp. 

“Fuck,” Yeonjun whined, shaking his foot.

“You ok?” Soobin asked. He was in the doorway of the room now, surveying the mess.He walked over, picking up the paper weight that had skittered across the floor. 

“I would be if Beomgyu didn’t make a mess of our room all the time. I told him we needed another shelf, instead of cramming all his shit on one,” Yeonjun griped, grabbing the book he was looking for and rapidly sending off a text to their group chat informing Beomgyu he had found it. He added some eye roll emojis for good measure, but found the page Beomgyu needed the reference from and quickly took a couple of pictures to send. 

Soobin nodded, looking around the room for the first time. He looked at the two dressers against the wall closest to the door. Both had a variety of things spread across them ranging from neat to disorderly, similar and yet distinctly their owners. Perfume he knew Beomgyu wore every day and a necklace on the other one that definitely belonged to Yeonjun. His gaze went from that to the bookshelf Yeonjun was currently cleaning up, another mix of the two roommates. Pictures of Yeonjun and Beomgyu and their families. Lastly, he looked over at the bed. It was large and made neatly, but there was a folded up sweater on top of one side. A sweater that he had seen Yeonjun wear on occasion. 

His words rang in Soobin’s head. _Our room_.

“Soobin? You good?” He must have looked like a dear in the headlights because Yeonjun had finished packing the overstuffed bookshelf and turned to raise a brow at him. 

_Our room_. He had never snooped around too much, but did he ever see another bedroom door when he was over? 

“Hyung,” he felt his throat dry up as he remembered the feeling of Beomgyu’s hands on his thighs, how he wanted to kiss him. How he was close to kissing Yeonjun just a moment ago. “Do you two… share a room?”

Yeonjun put his phone back in his pocket and shoved the book back onto the shelf the best he could. It wobbled, threatening to topple itself over along with a framed picture of Beomgyu and Yeonjun posing together. Their arms were around each other’s waists, cheeks pressed close together. They looked extremely happy. 

“Well, yeah,” Yeonjun smoothed out the bed, tidying it instead of looking up at Soobin. “Of course we do. He’s my boyfriend, after all.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to this mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the final part! Thanks once again to Dae for looking over this for me and helping me edit my scrambled thoughts into something more coherent. And thanks for the people who commented! I'm surprised so many people were excited to read this, even though I totally understand waiting on unfinished works. I didn't want to leave you all hanging. I really appreciate y'all.

“I know about you almost kissing Beomgyu. He told me. He said you didn’t end up doing it though,” Yeonjun looked up finally, giving the other a searching look. 

Soobin felt his stomach drop.

When Beomgyu fell into him, he had lingered close for a moment, until he finally broke away. Soobin thought he was overthinking, that maybe he imagined that his best friend wanted to be kissed. He hadn’t imagined it with Yeonjun, though. They were going to kiss, he knew that. But Beomgyu and Yeonjun shared a room, they shared a _bed_ , they were together as a couple and Soobin was coming between them. 

“I’m sorry-“ Soobin said quickly, all ready turning back around to the living room, no longer wanting to be in _their_ bedroom.

“Soobin, it’s ok, really,“ Yeonjun followed after him but Soobin was all ready grabbing his coat.

“I have to go, sorry,” the blood was roaring in his ears as he threw the coat on and headed towards the door.

He couldn’t stay here, not when he was so close to kissing his best friend’s boyfriend. He was so _stupid_. How had he never put it together before? Why hadn’t they told him? All this time, he had pined after his very much taken best friend, Now, here he was about to potentially make out with his best friend’s boyfriend. What the hell? He wasn’t about to hurt his best friend by-- by _cheating_ with his boyfriend. He didn’t stop, even as Yeonjun asked him to stay, to calm down and listen to him. Soobin didn’t want to hear it, so he put on his shoes and quickly left, Yeonjun calling after him from the doorway.

* * *

“I fucked up,” Soobin said the second Taehyun answered his phone. 

“Hello to you too,” He could hear the exasperation in Taehyun’s voice, along with Huening in the background yelling out a happy ‘hi hyung!’ 

“Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker. Ok, what’s wrong-“

“Yeonjun-hyung and Beomgyu are dating,” Soobin was slowly pacing outside of his dorm building, until he realized he must look like a crazy person and stopped. Even though it was a cold night, he stayed there. He just didn’t want to air out this kind of problem in front of his roommate even though he had to talk to someone. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah, _oh_ ,” Soobin let out a laugh, almost on the side of hysterical. “Yeonjun almost kissed me tonight. And _then_ he admitted he was dating Beomgyu.”

“So he’s an asshole,” Taehyun supplied. “I know I told you not to make it complicated liking two guys but this sounds really, really complicated hyung.”

“He said he knew that I tried to kiss Beomgyu, too,” Soobin slumped against the wall of the building, trying to wrap his own head around those words. “He didn’t seem mad but isn’t that _weird_?” 

“Well,” Huening’s voice came from a slight distance before he moved closer to the speaker. “They must have talked about it, right? And he tried to kiss you after knowing you almost kissed his boyfriend? Maybe they're just weird like that.”

“I’m not going to help him _cheat_ on his boyfriend. That's my best friend,” Soobin wasn’t going to be that kind of person, he couldn’t believe that Yeonjun was. 

“Yeah, I don’t really get it,” Huening admitted. How could he? He had been dating Taehyun exclusively for a while now, neither of them ever admitting to even thinking about another person like that. They were stable and uncomplicated and that was probably why Soobin always went to them for advice on this subject, despite being the older one. 

“You should talk to Beomgyu at least,” Taehyun sounded sad for him and Soobin wished they were both here right now. “I know you probably don’t want to bring this up with him but he should know. Or at least hear it from you.”

“I will, eventually. I just need a moment I guess?” 

“Take all the time you need, hyung. I really hope you’re ok,” Huening chimed in and Soobin felt himself smile for the first time since he left the other’s apartment in a hurry. They always knew how to make him feel even a little bit better. 

“And if either of them tries it with you, I’ll kick their asses myself,” Taehyun's voice was firm. Soobin knew that wasn’t an empty threat. 

* * *

Beomgyu walked into the apartment exhausted. Group projects were a mixed bag of overachievers and underachievers, always feeling like you were doing way too much of the work while being judged by someone else that you weren’t doing enough. At least it was over now, they had finished their powerpoint and sent it in to the professor and all he had to do was present it. All he wanted to do now was take a long shower and drop into his bed. 

The apartment was suspiciously quiet even though the lights were on. Yeonjun had said he was busy earlier, but the tv was usually on, or music was being played. Yeonjun and silence didn’t really mix. 

He found his boyfriend on the couch in that silence, head in hand, and immediately knew something was wrong. Beomgyu walked over, placing his hand on the other’s shoulder, making Yeonjun flinch. He hadn’t even heard Beomgyu come in, it seemed. 

“Sorry,” Beomgyu said softly, sitting down by his side, hand on the other’s knee. “What happened? Are you ok-”

“He knows,” Yeonjun’s face was blotchy, eyeshadow smeared and eyes red. His voice was cracked and more nasally than usual, a sure sign he had been crying pretty hard. 

After a shaky breath, he continued. “I asked Soobin to hang out with me tonight and… he found out about us being together and ran off. I mean I tried to explain, but he just wanted to leave. I’m so fucking stupid.”

“Hey,” Beomgyu’s heart was racing in his chest. Soobin knew they were dating each other, the secret was out. Not that he wanted to keep it a secret for so long, but there was nothing that could be done to change that now.He rubbed soothing circles on Yeonjun’s back. “You’re not stupid, just tell me what happened, ok?”

Yeonjun explained, from inviting Soobin over and trying to kiss him, to Soobin entering their bedroom and Yeonjun wanting to just get it all out. No more secrets. But it had backfired when the other looked startled and a little disgusted, running out the door without even bothering to hear what Yeonjun had to say to him. Beomgyu simply listened, pulling his boyfriend until Yeonjun’s face was in the crook of his neck as he talked. When he finished and pulled away, there was a suspiciously wet spot on Beomgyu’s shoulder but at least it seemed Yeonjun’s eyes were finally dry. 

“We should have talked about this,” Beomgyu worried his bottom lip, picking up his phone. “He’s probably totally freaked out.”

“I know,” Yeonjun sighed, slumping back into the couch, head tipped back to look at the ceiling just in case he started to tear up again. “I just got excited and impatient. I didn’t think… well I thought maybe if he saw I liked him, I could bring up how he tried to kiss you and ease him into it? But of course it fucking backfired.”

“Hey, it had to happen eventually,” Beomgyu squeezed his hand. Yeonjun squeezed it back, hand shaking a little. “I’m not mad or anything, but let’s try to keep each other in the loop. And maybe get Soobin to talk to us."

They tried to call Soobin, and then to text him, asking for them to all talk. None of their messages were answered but it at least seemed like they hadn’t been blocked. That was a bit of a relief. 

* * *

Yeonjun hoped that at the very least, Soobin would talk to him in class. He walked in fifteen whole minutes early, hoping that maybe he could get their friend to talk to him, or at least agree to meet with them after class sometime.  A minute before class was supposed to start, Soobin came. He was in his hoodie and sweats, the hood pulled up like the first couple weeks of class. He walked in and sat down at his normal spot, but he looked ahead, not even glancing towards Yeonjun. Maybe he deserved that a little bit but it didn’t stop Yeonjun’s stomach from twisting with anxiety. The rest of the class was spent like that, Yeonjun trying not to obviously glance over at him and Soobin staunchly looking forward, as if Yeonjun didn’t even exist. 

“Soobin, can we-“ He started as soon as class was dismissed, but the other had all ready packed up, heading towards the hallway without even looking back. _Ok, ouch,_ that _hurt._

Yeonjun followed, trying not to seem too desperate in such a public space, trying to at least get Soobin to glance his way. The other just kept walking, though he did stop at the entrance of the classroom. Yeonjun sighed with relief, thinking that maybe he would talk, until he noticed why Soobin had stopped. Beomgyu was standing in the hallway, unbothered by the annoyed glances passed his way by students attempting to walk in the hall around him. 

“Are you going to ignore us forever, hyung?” He was unwavering, staring the other down. Soobin looked between him and Yeonjun before settling his backpack a little more firmly on his shoulder and making to move around him.Beomgyu frowned but didn’t move to stop him. Instead, he continued, looking sad and defeated. “We do need to talk eventually. You’re still my best friend. Please.” 

That did make Soobin pause, and he at least looked slightly affected by those words as he glanced between Yeonjun and Beomgyu, albeit uneasy. 

“Ok,” he said it quietly, shuffling his feet slightly. “We can. Just.. can you give me a little bit? I don’t really know what to think.”

“Of course,” Yeonjun answered immediately but stopped himself from moving to touch Soobin, even though he wanted to. “Take all the time you need.” 

Soobin just nodded curtly, taking a deep breath and walking away. It was a start, even if neither of them wanted to leave it like that. But at least he was finally addressing them.

It was another two weeks before Soobin was ready, and Yeonjun could have cried from relief. Having Soobin practically ignore him in class didn’t feel too good. Beomgyu was also being avoided, which was even harder to deal with. Yeonjun might have really liked Soobin, but he was Beomgyu’s best friend before he was his crush. It clearly was hurting his boyfriend even if he tried to keep a straight face about it. Between the two of them, Yeonjun was most definitely the crier. It usually took Beomgyu beating himself up to get tears, though his silence at home had made the atmosphere around the apartment gloomy, and Yeonjun tried to keep his own eyes from watering whenever it felt too oppressive. 

Soobin finally responded to their group chat, saying that he wanted to meet. At first, the idea of coming over to their apartment made him hesitate, but it wasn’t like they could both casually go to his dorm without his roommate being around, and the subject was a little too delicate to talk about in public. So they decided he would come over on a Saturday afternoon, so that they could officially talk everything over. 

“You don’t have to make a bunch of snacks, hyung, we can order take out if we get hungry,” Beomgyu was one to talk, though. He was currently cleaning up the living room to deplete some of his nervous energy. Half the clutter was moved into their bedroom, the door firmly shut. 

“I don’t want any interruptions if the conversation goes bad,” Yeonjun tutted. He was a stress cooker when he wasn’t able to get out and dance or work out his worries. He needed something to do with his hands, fretting like he was making a ten course meal.

The doorbell rang, Yeonjun glancing out of the kitchen towards Beomgyu as they exchanged worried looks. The conversation Beomgyu had been so worried about having was now happening in the absolute worst way possible. But it had to be like ripping off a bandaid, so he walked to the door and let Soobin in. He was wearing jeans but he still had his usual hoodie on, and Beomgyu couldn’t help the small swell of affection even if his friend was barely looking at him as he entered the apartment. Soobin didn’t sit on the couch with Beomgyu, instead sitting in a recliner they had by the tv. Yeonjun stated he would be out in a minute, throwing off the ugly bright orange apron as he did so, and joined Beomgyu on the couch so that they could all properly face each other. 

“So,” Yeonjun started, laughing a little in nervous anticipation before clearing his throat. “This isn’t exactly how I wanted this conversation to come up. Obviously.”

Beomgyu could agree with that, looking between his boyfriend and his friend. “What do you want to start with?”

“Why are you all right with your boyfriend cheating on you?” It must have been on Soobin’s mind for a long time because he didn’t hesitate, looking directly at Beomgyu. But his courage must have left him because he immediately dropped his gaze, fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie in his lap. “I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend. If I did, I would’t have… we shouldn’t-”

“I’m not cheating on anyone,” Yeonjun frowned, reaching out to hold Beomgyu’s hand. “I was an idiot who should have thought about what I was doing, yeah, but don’t accuse me of cheating.”

Yeonjun's eyes were narrowed, gaze focused on Soobin. Soobin's shoulders were raised, clearly looking like he didn't believe what he was hearing, but his gaze was still on his lap.

“I knew about it, hyung,” Beomgyu supplied quickly. He squeezed Yeonjun’s hand but looked at Soobin. “I mean I didn’t actually know he invited you over that night but I knew he liked you too.” 

“And you’re just… ok with that?” Soobin didn’t look mad so much as uncertain, shoulders finally drooping. Beomgyu knew he wasn’t afraid of addressing his issues, but he also hated conflict. None of them wanted this to drag on.

“How could I not be?” Beomgyu shrugged, feeling his insides twist with what he was about to confess. It had been something lingering over him so long he was unsure how to put it delicately now. “I wish he had brought it up with me beforehand, but I can’t be upset he likes you if I also wanted to kiss you too.”

He let the other absorb his words. It was silent, Soobin looking between the two of them. He blinked once, twice, his mouth hanging open slightly in a way that Beomgyu would normally make fun of him for, but right now all he could do was hold Yeonjun’s hand and look at Soobin in anticipation for however his friend would take that. 

“You want to kiss me,” Soobin wasn’t necessarily asking a question. He looked like was trying to process something, eyes slowly wandering between Beomgyu and Yeonjun. It gave him a pouty little expression that would have been cute if not for the conversation they were having. “Why?”

“Oh my god, hyung,” Beomgyu groaned, his free hand pressing against his forehead in exasperation. “Because I _like_ you! I’ve liked you since last semester, you dope. And then Yeonjun started liking you too, but he’s also an idiot.”

“Hey!” Yeonjun shoved Beomgyu with his shoulder, nearly making the smaller boy topple over on the couch. “I was tired of your sorry ass trying to figure out the perfect time to confess so I thought I would just do it first since you’ve been taking too long.”

“And what were you going to do if he kissed you and then you had to tell him you were actually dating me? We would still have to bring that up, idiot!” Beomgyu shoved back, voice pitching up in indignation. 

“Can we pause, please,” Soobin felt like his head was rattling, too much information being presented to him at once. He had spent so much time crushing on Beomgyu and then crushing on Yeonjun and then not knowing what to do about his two crushes. He was constantly wondering if their every interaction with him could be classified as flirting, or just his hopeful imagination. And then after all that, there was the mortifying fact that both his crushes were actually in a relationship with each other. Now he was faced with this new curveball: that these two guys he liked were not only dating each other, but they both liked him as well. 

The two of them sat silent, though they were looking at Soobin expectantly. A long moment followed, Soobin’s gaze between the two of them uncertain as he sunk into the chair with his hands tucked in his lap. Taehyun’s voice was ringing in his head, _‘don’t make it complicated’_. This felt incredibly complicated. He sighed, burrowing his head in his hands. 

“So you both like me?” It sounded muffled behind his fingers but the way they both said yes with no hesitation showed that they were listening to his every word. “And you’re dating each other but you’re both ok with.. kissing me?”

“I don’t want to just kiss you though,” Yeonjun sounded insistent and it made Soobin finally look up at him. The older boy’s face was as pink as his hair, and Soobin hated that he felt endeared by that even now. ”I mean I do want to kiss you, I _tried_ to kiss you. But I don’t want to just hook up or whatever.”

“I know we should have said something earlier,” Beomgyu said, a little hesitant. His eyes were hidden behind his shaggy bangs as if he was trying to hide himself, but he continued on. “I love Yeonjun, a lot. We’ve been together a long time, and I’m not going to break up with him. But when _we_ hang out, just you and me, talking about whatever, I like that too. I like you a lot, hyung, and I know it’s weird but…”

He trailed off there, floundering for what to say next. 

“He’s trying to ask if you’d be open to maybe dating us. Both of us,” Yeonjun chimed in, glancing at Beomgyu. They had hidden their relationship well, Soobin had never seen Yeonjun smile at Beomgyu so tenderly before. Soobin couldn't say he'd mind seeing that look on his face more often. “I promise we aren’t so bad as boyfriends, despite how crazy this whole thing got. I mean, even if you _do_ have to pick up after Beomgyu constantly.”

“No you don’t,” Beomgyu bristled, pulling his hand away from Yeonjun’s with a pout.

“Yes you do,” Soobin sighed, shoulders relaxing just a bit more. Maybe Taehyun was correct in not making his love life complicated and maybe this was a little more than he bargained for. But it also didn’t have to be as complicated as he was initially making it out to be. Maybe if they put everything out on the table with no secrets, at least. 

“I do like you both,” he said it now, letting the momentum carry his words before he got too embarrassed to continue. “And I guess it just freaked me out knowing that I was trying to get with people who weren’t actually single. I don’t really get how this works.”

“It’s not like, a casual hook up or whatever. We want to actually date you too,” Beomgyu sat straighter, though his face was a little red from how eager he sounded. It made Soobin blush a little as well, though Yeonjun just laughed at the two of them. 

“Sure, we have to actually talk about everything, our boundaries and all that, if you’re really cool with trying it out.” Yeonjun looked relieved as he grinned over at Soobin. “Would you want to try dating us?”

Soobin swallowed. It wasn’t conventional by any means, and he had never even dated before let alone walked right into a relationship with two boys. But he missed being with them, missed the fun they had, and the way they both had warmth blooming in his chest. Maybe it could work. Why complicate it further?

“Ok,” he tried to sit up with a little more confidence, looking at Yeonjun and then Beomgyu. “We can try and work it out.”

“Cool,” Yeonjun said it so simply but there was clear relief in his face. He grinned at Soobin, tilting his head as if contemplating something. “We should talk it all out, and we _will_ …but right now I do kind of want to finally kiss you. Can I? Is that ok?”

It was alarming how much Soobin thought it was ok. The amount of times he had thought about kissing both Beomgyu and Yeonjun were absolutely embarrassing and he wasn’t exactly ready to admit that just yet. Instead, he nodded and stood up, unsure of what to do with himself. He tried to will away the redness in his cheeks when Yeonjun smirked at that. 

“What about me? I liked him first.” Beomgyu pouted, but Yeonjun was all ready making his way around the coffee table, eyes on Soobin.

“Yeah, well, you snooze you lose,” Yeonjun looked entirely too pleased, eyes gleaming as they zeroed in on Soobin, or more specifically, his mouth. Soobin realized it was going to actually happen now, the kiss that he almost shared with Yeonjun, the kiss that he had thought about for weeks now. He glanced at Beomgyu uneasily, still not used to the fact that he was about to kiss someone else’s boyfriend, but all Beomgyu did was pout comically harder. There was no anger or doubt in his eyes. 

His gaze went back to Yeonjun, who was now standing in front of him. Yeonjun actually giggled, a little embarrassed noise, now that they were standing face to face. But he grasped Soobin’s shoulders gently and moved in. Soobin closed his eyes in anticipation. 

And then it happened. They kissed. It was brief, just a soft peck, and he could hear Beomgyu booing behind Yeonjun, saying “if you’re going to get the first kiss, at least make it count!”

“Is that all right? If I do it again, I mean,” Yeonjun was looking up at him with uncertainty, and it made Soobin feel a lot better. All three of them were going into brand new territory so maybe he didn’t have to feel so much like he was drowning alone in it. Maybe if they were all tackling this together, he didn’t have to feel so overwhelmed. Soobin let himself smile, reassuring, as he carefully put his hands around Yeonjun’s waist. 

“Yes,” he was proud his voice sounded steady. It seemed to please Yeonjun as well, and their mouths pressed together again, this time a proper kiss. He squeezed the other’s hip slightly, trying to remember how he had kissed a boy at one of his first college parties, trying not to embarrass himself too badly. But Yeonjun seemed happy, arms wrapping around Soobin’s neck and deepening the kiss. Even if Soobin couldn’t see it, he could tell the other was smiling against his mouth. 

“Don’t forget me,” Beomgyu sounded closer now, and Soobin moved back a little, startled to see that he was so distracted he didn’t notice Beomgyu getting up to join them. Beomgyu stood, looking at the two of them expectantly. Yeonjun looked entirely too pleased with himself, letting out a dreamy little sigh and turning in Soobin’s grip to peck at Beomgyu’s lips quickly before pulling away. His boyfriend huffed, moving to take his place, his hands on Soobin’s waist this time. They both looked at each other.

“You still wanted to kiss me too, right?” Beomgyu shuffled his feet a little, like he wasn’t so sure now that he was finally getting what he wanted. It made Soobin feel a little bold, seeing how the bravado had left the other under his gaze. 

“Of course,” he nodded and let the momentum once again carry him. He kissed Beomgyu this time, just like he had been wanting. This seemed to surprise the other, but he quickly melted into it, a content hum escaping him involuntarily. They pulled away a moment later, both growing increasingly redder as Yeonjun clapped. 

“You two are so cute,” the eldest sighed, looking too relieved to actually be cocky. “And I’m hungry. Do you want to talk about everything while we eat?”

* * *

Soobin had a paper due and he should have stayed in the library to do it. Study and homework time were respected quiet hours, but it was hard to concentrate with the clattering coming from Beomgyu’s bedroom behind him. Along with the soft cursing. He sighed, saving his work.

“You good in there?” He called over his shoulder and was met with an aggravated noise. Beomgyu was usually loud, so this didn’t particularly surprise him. “Do you want my help?”

“No!” Beomgyu yelled emphatically. “Do your homework! Hyung just needs to get back all ready.” 

That only took a couple more minutes, the front door opening and Yeonjun walking in with a sing songy little ‘I’m home!’ He walked over to the couch first, going behind where Soobin was sitting to ruffle his freshly dyed hair. It was bright blue, something he never expected to try before, but considering his boyfriend’s hair was still bright pink, strands of yellow and blue mixed in to add a little extra oomph, it was probably inevitable. He remembered the night Yeonjun had asked him for help with his hair, and how the other had convinced him to try something new with his own. It was different, but he did end up liking it. Beomgyu and Yeonjun seemed to like it too. 

“How’s it going?” Yeonjun placed a kiss on Soobin’s forehead when the other peered up at him and it made Soobin’s heart skip a little. These little gestures of affection were still new to him, even though they’d been dating for a while now. 

“You better go help. I think Beomgyu’s planning on how to kill you with the bed frame,” It had gone silent in the other room, which was never a good sign with Beomgyu. Yeonjun rolled his eyes, muttering about how Beomgyu was just ‘so dramatic’ but dutifully picked up his shopping bag. He walked into the bedroom to find Beomgyu sitting amongst the wreckage. 

It seemed like forever since Yeonjun and Beomgyu left their twin mattresses to share a bigger bed. It turned out it wasn’t quite big enough now, when you added a tree like Soobin in the mix. They made it work but there were plenty of nights that limbs started to teeter precariously off the sides until one night when Yeonjun accidentally shoved Beomgyu clean off and onto the floor. That apparently was not enough to wake Beomgyu up, heavy sleeper that he was, but he did wake up the next morning on the floor, with a painful crick in his neck and vowed to find a bigger bed. It came in large boxes a week later and now they just had to build it. 

“Got the extra screws,” Yeonjun lifted the hardware store bag, shaking it a little. “Though, honestly, _screw_ them for not sending us the right amount, huh?”

“I hate you,” Beomgyu stated flatly, digging around for the instructions that had gotten lost in the mess of cardboard. 

“Love you, babe,” Yeonjun just grinned, finding a spot in the carnage to sit. He grabbed bits of cardboard and started to organize them into neat piles so that it was easier to see what they were doing. Between the two of them, the work became smoother. The frame was finally built and the heavy mattress they struggled to place on top didn’t collapse under its weight so that was promising. Soobin felt bad for not being able to help with his homework due, so he ordered them food and helped bag the cardboard up for disposal when he was done. 

“Ahhhh,” Yeonjun was the first to flop onto the new mattress, rolling around happily and spreading his limbs out wide on the large bed. They hadn’t put sheets on yet but he didn’t care, it felt soft and squishy under his weight. 

“Move over, I want to try,” Beomgyu pushed the other’s limbs away as he laid down, also beginning to roll around. He glanced up at Soobin, who was looking at them both with exasperation that could not entirely mask the fondness underneath it. Beomgyu patted the space they had left between them, imploring Soobin to join.

“We have to make the bed first,” Soobin swatted at his backside playfully, but that just gave Beomgyu an opportunity to grab onto his arm and pull. It was a valiant struggle, but soon enough Yeonjun was also helping Beomgyu pull their boyfriend down onto the mattress, throwing their arms and legs over him to keep Soobin in place. 

“It’s comfy just like this,” Yeonjun mumbled into Soobin’s shoulder, arm draping over both of his boyfriends and squeezing. Beomgyu hummed his agreement on Soobin’s other side, leg hooking over the other to keep him from squirming out of their grasp.

“I’m dating toddlers,” Soobin grumbled but resigned himself to his fate. It _was_ a comfy mattress, and it was hard to move with Yeonjun and Beomgyu throwing their arms around him. Even harder when they both decided to trail lazy kisses down his neck and shoulders, so he just let himself sink into the comfort. The sheets could wait.

Beomgyu and Yeonjun grinned at each other, knowing they had won this one. Soobin couldn’t really say he minded letting them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might add in some extra epilogue domestic yeonbingyu scenes as an extra chapter. I think it will mostly just be little snippets or extra supplementary scenes to the story but I am not sure yet. Let me know if you're interested haha.


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